Love this club

Stoke boss Pulis tweaks pre-season plans

Tony Pulis believes Stoke will benefit from changing their pre-season programme for the first time in six years.
Pulis has been reluctant to make long-haul trips in the past but feels a two-week stay in America, which will take in games in Ohio, Florida and Missouri between 24th July and 1st August, will be beneficial to his players.

"There will be some travelling involved, but it is during the summer and not in the middle of the season," he told The Sentinel.

"And the internal flights between venues will only be about two hours each, so that's just like jumping on a coach to Bristol.

"Obviously the trip to and from America will be difficult, but overall I think the travelling is manageable."

Pulis admits he spoke with a number of his Premier League colleagues before finalising his plans.

"I've spoken to two or three managers who've been out there in recent years to get a feel of what the trip will be like," he added.

"Their conclusion was that it was beneficial in terms of pre-season preparation.

"It will be warm out there at that time of year and that will be good because you want it to be demanding for the players.

"They will also be tough games physically for our lads because the American teams will already be in the middle of their season.